It’s heartbreak in Paris for Canada.
All three Canadian basketball programs have come up empty, missing the podium, and leaving Paris far too early.
Canada sent three programs to the Olympics — Women’s 3×3 and 5×5, and of course, the star-studded Men’s 5×5 team. All three had medal aspirations, and were in a good position to succeed.
Unfortunately it was disappointment after disappointment as those podium dreams vanished one after the other for the Canadians.
Women’s 3×3: Just falls short for bronze
Canada’s Women’s 3×3 team came into the Olympics with two of the top three players in the world on their roster. Michelle and Katherine Plouffe, Paige Crozon, and Kacie Bosch have been preparing for this tournament for years, travelling on the 3×3 series and developing their chemistry.
After landing in a play-in game after pool play, Canada was able to win over Australia and secure their place in the semi-final. They had two chances to win a medal, facing Germany in their semi-final match first.
In a crushing one-point overtime defeat, Canada lost out on the chance to win gold, and headed to the bronze medal game. They would face reigning gold medalists Team USA, who were able to outlast them and win bronze.
After an impressing showing, Canada’s 3×3 team was the most successful of the three programs in Paris, finishing 4th in the world.
Still heartbreaking to get that close and miss out on a medal.
Women’s 5×5: Canada finishes last in the group
After finishing fourth in the world at the Women’s FIBA World Cup in 2023, Canada’s Senior team was hopeful that they could go far in Paris. They had luck on their side in the Qualifiers, when they had to depend on Spain’s 20-point comeback against Hungary to help them even make it.
Paris was a fresh start after that nerve-wrecking qualifier. They ended up in a tough group with France, Australia, and Nigeria. Unfortunately, their offence could not get it going in any of the three group games, and they finished 0-3.
Obviously not the showing they had been expecting, and they were eliminated, not making it to the quarter final stage.
Men’s 5×5: Ran out of juice in quarters
This team was thought to be Canada’s best shot at a medal at the Olympics. With most of the team being made up of NBA talent, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in peak form, Canada was up there in the ranks.
It showed early on too, and Canada went 3-0 in the group stage. Further, it was in a group nicknamed the “group of death” with Greece, Australia, and Spain joining them. It was an incredibly good sign that Canada won all three, and there was a ton of optimism coming into the knockout stages.
They were placed against France for the quarters, who had home court advantage being the hosts. Still, Canada were the favourites coming into the game, and they biggest threat was most likely going to be France’s frontcourt. Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 NBA Rookie of the Year has been having a decent showing in the Olympics, but overall it did not seem like France could overtake Canada’s offence with SGA leading.
Well… they did. Everyone on France’s team stepped up to contribute, and Canada just could not get it together. France led the game from start to finish, and at one point led Canada by 19 points. In the end, the score was 82-73, and Canada could not get closer than 5 points behind the French.
So that is the end of their journey in France, being eliminated before they could play for a medal.
Obviously, incredibly disappointing on all fronts for Canadian basketball at the Olympics. All three teams still made Canadians extremely proud along the journey, despite the finish. It will interesting to see where the future goes from here as Canadian basketball continues to grow.